Also:
Royal commission examines
Jehovah Witnesses cover-up (The
Saturday Paper, Australia) Aug 1 – (Opinion: Martin McKenzie-Murray) The Jehovah’s Witnesses’ fiercely
literal reading of the Bible has distanced them from the law and politics, but
the royal commission into child sexual abuse is ending that.

EDUCATION

NSW to audit school
prayer groups for extremism(ABC
News) July 28 - The New South Wales Government has announced a state-wide audit of
all prayer groups conducted in public schools following allegations of radical
Islam being preached in a Sydney playground.

Also:
Principals 'not best to
spot extremism' (The West
Australian) July 28 - A Muslim community spokeswoman has accused the government of failing
to consult and reacting to headlines after Premier Mike Baird announced an
audit of school prayer groups.

ACL says school
anti-bullying program 'encouraging cross dressing' (Brisbane Times) July 29 - The Australian Christian Lobby is demanding the Queensland Government
cease supporting a school based anti-bullying program for gay, intersex and
gender diverse children, accusing it of promoting "radical sexual
experimentation", by encouraging the acceptance of gender and sexual
diverse children.

Also:
Taliban leader Mullah
Omar's death: what now? (The West
Australian) July 31 - Kabul (AFP) – (Opinion) The
Afghan government's announcement on Wednesday that Taliban chief Mullah Omar
died two years ago in Pakistan, though not yet officially confirmed by the
militants, has major implications for the insurgency and for the future of
Afghanistan.

New Afghan Taliban
leader ‘vows to fight on’ (The
Australian) Aug 2 - The new leader of the Afghan Taliban apparently vowed to continue his
group’s bloody, nearly 14-year insurgency in an audio message released last
night, urging his fighters to remain unified after the death of their longtime
leader.

Other

China steps up campaign
to remove church crosses (The
West Australian) July 30 - Shanghai (AFP) - Authorities in Wenzhou, known as China's Jerusalem,
have given Christian churches a deadline to remove prominent crosses within
weeks, worshippers and an activist group said Thursday, stepping up a
long-running campaign.